Tamil Nadu Timeline

ReligionBritish Crown rule

Iyothee Thass founds the Sakya Buddhist Society

· Chennai

After embracing Buddhism in Ceylon, Iyothee Thass founded the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras, launching a Tamil Buddhist revival among Dalits.

In 1898 Iyothee Thass visited Ceylon and received initiation from the Buddhist monk Bikkhu Sumangala Nayake. On returning he established the Sakya Buddhist Society, also called the Indian Buddhist Association, in Madras with branches across South India. Identifying the origin of caste with the decline of Buddhism, he urged Dalits to return to Buddhism. Henry Steel Olcott of the Theosophical Society supported the effort.

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  3. 1893

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  4. 1907

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  5. 1922

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